Professional Documents
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Banking Ombudsman is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) or a quasi
(nominal) judicial authority functioning under India’s Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006. Banking
Ombudsman has the responsibility to resolve customer complaints against deficiency in banking services.
At present 15 Ombudsmen have been appointed in state capitals by the RBI to settle customer
complaints relating to banking services.
Further, under the new scheme, the governance and operations is fully staffed and funded by the
Reserve Bank instead of the banks.
Eligible Complaints
The Banking Ombudsman can receive and consider any complaint relating to a number of deficiencies
related to banking operations including internet banking. The following type of the complaints can be
taken up by the Banking Ombudsman:
1. Non-payment or delay in the payment of inward remittances or collection of cheques, drafts, bills,
etc.
2. Non-acceptance, without sufficient cause, of small denomination notes or coins tendered for any
purpose and for charging of commission for this service
3. Failure to issue or delay in issue, of drafts, pay orders or bankers’ cheques
4. Closure of account without customer concern
5. Refusal to close or delay in closing the accounts
6. Non-adherence to the fair practices code as adopted by the bank; and
7. Financial loss incurred to customer due to wrong information given by bank official
8. Any other matter relating to the violation of the directives issued by the Reserve Bank in relation
to banking or other services
9. Non-adherence by the bank or its subsidiaries to the instructions of Reserve Bank on ATM/debit
card operations or credit card operations
10. Non-disbursement or delay in disbursement of pension to the extent the grievance can be
attributed to the action on the part of the bank concerned but not with regard to its employees
11. Refusal to accept or delay in accepting payment towards taxes, as required by Reserve
Bank/Government
12. complaints from Non-Resident Indians having accounts in India in relation to their remittances
from abroad, deposits and other bank-related matters
13. Non-adherence to prescribed working hours
14. Failure to honor guarantee or letter of credit commitments
15. Failure to provide or delay in providing a banking facility (other than loans and advances)
promised in writing by a bank or its direct selling agents
16. Delays, non-credit of proceeds to parties’ accounts, non-payment of deposit or non-observance of
the Reserve Bank directives, if any, applicable to rate of interest on deposits in any savings,
current or other account maintained with a bank
17. Delays in receipt of export proceeds, handling of export bills, collection of bills etc.,
for exporters provided the said complaints pertain to the bank’s operations in India
18. Refusal to open deposit accounts without any valid reason for refusal
19. Levying of charges without adequate prior notice to the customer
20. Refusal to issue or delay in issuing, or failure to service or delay in servicing or redemption of
Government securities
21. Forced closure of deposit accounts without due notice or without sufficient reason.
After the above step, any person who has a grievance against a bank on any one or more of the above
eligible grounds can himself or through an authorized representative (other than an advocate), make a
complaint to the Banking Ombudsman.
Complaint arising out of the operations of credit cards and other types of services with centralized
operations, should be filed before the Banking Ombudsman within whose territorial jurisdiction the billing
address of the customer is located.
The complaint should be made in writing and should be signed b y the complainant or his authorized
representative. In the complaint, the following information should be clearly stated:
The complainant should file along with the complaint, copies of the documents, if any, which he proposes
to rely upon and a declaration that the complaint is maintainable. A complaint made through electronic
means should also be accepted by the Banking Ombudsman and a print out of the complaint should be
taken on the record of the Banking Ombudsman.
On submitting the complaint, the Banking Ombudsman will call for records from the Bank and will initiate
hearings to arrive at a conclusion.
Rejection of the Complaint
The compliant can be rejected by the Banking Ombudsman, if it pertain to the same cause of action, for
which any proceedings before any court, tribunal or arbitrator or any other forum is pending or a decree or
Award or order has been passed. Further, a complaint can also be rejected, if its made without any
sufficient cause or not pursued by the complainant with reasonable diligence. Finally, a compliant can be
rejected, if in the opinion of the Banking Ombudsman there is no loss or damage or inconvenience
caused to the complainant.